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Top Asian News 8:47 a.m. GMT

Associated Press

At least 10 dead, 40 hurt as 6.4 quake hits Indonesia island

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A shallow, magnitude 6.4 earthquake early Sunday killed at least 10 people and injured 40 on Indonesia'sLombok Island, a popular tourist destination next to Bali, officials said. The quake damaged dozens of single-story houses and taller buildings and was felt in a wider area, including in Bali, where no damage or casualties were reported. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at a depth of 7 kilometers (4.4 miles). East Lombok district was the hardest hit with eight deaths, including a Malaysian tourist, said a spokesman for Indonesia'sDisaster Mitigation Agency, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. The number of casualties could increase as data was still being collected from other locations on the island, he said.

Cambodians vote in election with main opposition silenced

PHNOM PEHN, Cambodia (AP) — With the main opposition silenced, Cambodians voted in an election Sunday virtually certain to return to office Prime Minister Hun Sen and his party, who have been in power for more than three decades. Although 20 parties contested the polls, the only one with the popularity and organization to mount a credible challenge, the Cambodian National Rescue Party, was dissolved last year by the Supreme Court. Its leaders had called on supporters to boycott the polls, charging they were neither fair nor free. Along with fracturing the political opposition, Hun Sen's government also silenced critical voices in the media.

Cambodian election glance: who's running and what's at stake

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A look at key issues in Cambodia's general election on Sunday, with 8.3 million people registered to vote for 125 seats in the National Assembly: WHO'S RUNNING Twenty parties registered to contest the polls, but Prime Minister Hun Sen'sCambodian People's Party is the only serious contender. With a handful of exceptions, the other parties are seen as doing the government's bidding by running to give the illusion of a free and fair choice. The party that was expected to mount a strong challenge, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, was dissolved last year by court order on a complaint that it conspired to overthrow the government, a decision widely seen as politically motivated.

Tropical storm hits Japan, heads for hard-hit western region

TOKYO (AP) — A tropical storm in Japan disrupted transportation and knocked out power to thousands of homes in its path as it headed west toward a region still recovering from devastating rains earlier this month. At least 16 people have been injured, according to a tally by Japan's public broadcaster, NHK. Tropical Storm Jongdari made landfall about 1 a.m. Sunday in central Japan after dumping heavy rain on Tokyo and other parts of eastern Japan the previous day. Downgraded from a typhoon, it had maximum sustained winds of 90 kilometers per hour (56 miles per hour) with gusts up to 126 kph (78 mph).

Report: Fugitive Chinese police officer returns

BEIJING (AP) — A police officer who was among China's top 100 international fugitives has returned from the United States to face charges of taking bribes, a state news agency said Sunday. Zhang Yongguang became the 54th fugitive former official to return from abroad amid a marathon government campaign to capture corruption suspects abroad, the Xinhua News Agency said. Zhang, who worked in the southern city of Shenzhen, fled the country in 2010, Xinhua said. It gave no details of the charges against Zhang or possible penalties but news reports in 2010 said he was accused of taking 920,000 yuan ($135,000) from a crime suspect.

Pakistan: Khan's party says it got the support to form gov't

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The party of cricket star Imran Khan on Saturday claimed it had acquired the support of the lawmakers required to form a coalition government after winning this week's polls, as a secular party angered over alleged fraud rallied in the northwest. "People have voted us into power and God willing, we will form a government," Fawad Chaudhry, the spokesman for Khan's party, told The Associated Press. He did not say exactly how many lawmakers had agreed to join their future government, saying the announcement would be made when the National Assembly convenes next week for the swearing in ceremony of the newly elected lawmakers.

Taliban official says group spoke with US official

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban held their first direct contact with a U.S. official in a preliminary discussion about future peace talks on Afghanistan, a senior official with the insurgent group said Saturday. It marked one of the most significant developments amid efforts to find a negotiated end to the country's protracted war. The official described as "useful" a meeting with Alice Wells, the U.S.'s top diplomat for South Asia, earlier this week. He said the meeting was held in the small Middle Eastern country of Qatar, where the Taliban have maintained a political office since 2013. "The environment was positive and the discussion was useful," the Taliban official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Cambodian elections a choice between strongman or boycott

BANGKOK (AP) — Cambodians voting in Sunday's general election will have a nominal choice of 20 parties, but in reality, only two serious options: extend Prime Minister Hun Sen's 33 years in power, or do not vote at all. The key factor virtually ensuring a walkover by Hun Sen's party is the elimination of any credible opposition, accomplished last November when the Supreme Court declared the Cambodian National Rescue Party complicit in trying to overthrow the government in a plot encouraged by the United States. The far-fetched allegation appears unsupported by any evidence. The court ordered the party dissolved, also banning its leaders from holding office for five years and expelling its members from the elective positions they held.

Analysis: Return of remains good, but easy move for N. Korea

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea made good on another promise to President Donald Trump by returning dozens of sets of remains of American GIs killed during the Korean War. But it expects something in return — a peace treaty, or something very much like it. Until that's on the table, real progress toward denuclearization will likely have to wait. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed in his summit in Singapore with Trump last month to resume returning remains. But the North chose the most symbolic day to actually turn over the first batch. Friday was the 65th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, which concluded not in a formal peace treaty but in an armistice agreement that was supposed to be temporary but has stayed in effect ever since.

Return by NK of possible remains stir relatives' hopes

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — News that North Korea is sending home 55 sets of remains is being welcomed by relatives of those missing from the Korean War. But most know they still face long odds at achieving any closure: Thousands of soldiers are still unaccounted for, and identifications could take decades. Ruth Santella, 84, of St. Paul, Minnesota, doesn't hold much hope of living long enough to discover whether her older brother's bones are among those released by North Korea on Friday. Private 1st Class George D'Amico was killed in action on Sept. 27, 1950, near Taejon, Korea, according to a U.S.